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4700. Election Department

 Record Group
Identifier: 4700
The Board of Registrars of Voters was appointed in May of 1874 and was succeeded July 1, 1895 by the Board of Election Commissioners. This department exercises all the powers and duties formerly conferred upon the Board of Registrars of Voters (including the preparation of the jury list), except the power and duty of giving notice of elections and fixing the days and hours for holding the same. The Board also exercises all the powers and duties formerly conferred upon the City Clerk and other officers by chapter 504 of the Acts of 1894. One Election Commissioner is appointed by the Mayor each year, term beginning on the 1st of April. The two leading political parties must be equally represented on the Board and the Chairman is designated annually by the Mayor.

Found in 14 Collections and/or Records:

Election Commission proceedings

 Series
Identifier: 4700.013
Scope and Contents

Includes the minutes of the meetings of the Election Commission from 1914-1922, 1927-1990 June, 1991 July-1997.

Dates: 1914-1997 with gaps
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Election Commission proceedings

Election Department annual reports and publications

 Series
Identifier: 4700.010
Scope and Contents Includes copies of annual reports for the years 1924, 1926-1928, 1930-1932, 1934-1935, 1937, 1939-1953, 1956, 1960, 1963, 1969-1981, 1991; "Ordinance Defining New Boundaries of Wards", 1875; "Lists of Streets, Avenues, Courts, Places, etc.", 1880 and 1896; "Act to Provide for Printing and Distributing Ballots at the Public Expense and to Regulate Voting...Being the So-called Australian Ballot Law", 1889; "Report of Special Committee on New Division of Wards into Voting Precincts", 1889;...
Dates: 1875-1991
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Election Department annual reports and publications

Election Department scrapbook

 Item — Oversize 1
Identifier: 4700.009
Scope and Contents

Scrapbook of forms used by the Election Commissioners. Includes registration forms, nomination papers, ballots, ward map, instructions, certificates of Election, polling location posters, etc.

Dates: 1895-1897, 1908
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Election Department scrapbook

Jury lists

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 4700.012
Scope and Contents

Lists of names of persons liable to serve as jurors in the several courts of Suffolk County.

Dates: 1856-1982
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Jury lists

Lists of qualified male voters

 Series
Identifier: 4700.003
Scope and Contents note

Includes printed list of qualified male voters from 1874 (ward 16 only) to 1894 with gaps. Includes the 1889 list kept in the Mayor's Office.

Dates: 1874-1894 with gaps
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Lists of qualified male voters

Opinions of the Corporation Counsel requested by the Board of Election Commissioners

 Series — Volume 1
Identifier: 4700.014
Scope and Contents

One bound volume and 1 folder of legal opinions requested by the Board of Election Commissioners, 1895-1949, 1967-1974.

Dates: 1895-1974 with gaps
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Opinions of the Corporation Counsel requested by the Board of Election Commissioners

Record of change of enrolment

 Series
Identifier: 4700.007
Scope and Contents

Record of appearance by individual before the Election Commissioners to change party enrolment.

Dates: 1926-1954
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Record of change of enrolment

Record of oaths

 Item — Volume 1
Identifier: 4700.008
Scope and Contents

Record of oaths sworn by Assistant Registrars of Voters.

Dates: 1896-1935
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Record of oaths

Record of return of votes from the several wards in the City of Boston

 Series
Identifier: 4700.004
Scope and Contents

Returns, certified by the City Clerk, of all votes cast in elections. Volumes from 1822-1877 do not include Common Council returns.

Dates: 1822-1894 with gaps
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Record of return of votes from the several wards in the City of Boston

Record of returns of votes by precinct

 Series
Identifier: 4700.005
Scope and Contents

Record of returns of votes cast by ward and precinct.

Dates: 1878-1894
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Record of returns of votes by precinct

Record of votes cast at special elections

 Series
Identifier: 4700.006
Scope and Contents

Records of votes cast at special elections held in individual wards.

Dates: 1879-1891
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Record of votes cast at special elections

Voter registration records

 Collection
Identifier: 4700.001
Scope and Contents note This collection includes voter registration records for men from 1857-1900, women from 1920-1940 and men from 1921-1940. The registers are not a comprehensive listing of all registered voters. The period 1857-1895 includes only naturalized males and for the period 1920-1940 other sets of registers were used to register voters. The collection has been divided into four series: Naturalized male voter indexes; Naturalized male voter registers; Naturalized and Native male voter registers; and...
Dates: circa 1857-1940 with gaps
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Voter registration records

Ward and precinct maps

 Collection
Identifier: 4700.011
Scope and Contents

Map books showing ward and precinct boundaries for the years 1878, 1886, 1889, 1890, 1895, 1916, 1921, 1925 and 1936 printed by the Election Department.

Dates: 1878-1936
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Ward and precinct maps

Women voter registers

 Collection
Identifier: 4700.002
Scope and Content This collection contains registers documenting naturalized and native women registered to vote in school board elections from 1884-1920. Naturalized women immigrated to the United States and acquired citizenship. Native women were citizens by birth. Women who became citizens through their native husbands were registered as native voters (Chapter 223, Acts of 1879). Registers are labeled with a ward number, a volume number or both. Only the Naturalized Women Voter Registers have an index, all...
Dates: 1884-1920
Found in: City of Boston Archives / Women voter registers

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